Emperor Reports Abdication at Earliest Predecessor's Tomb

Kashihara, Nara Pref., March 26 (Jiji Press)--Emperor Akihito made a formal report on his April 30 abdication at the mausoleum of Emperor Jinmu, his mythical earliest predecessor, in the western Japan city of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture, on Tuesday.

The visit to the first Emperor's mausoleum was an abdication-related ritual called "Shin'etsu-no-gi."

Dressed in morning coat and carrying a top hat by hand, the retiring Emperor, 85, walked down a gravel path to the mausoleum at a slow pace. He then presented a "tamagushi" Shinto offering and bowed deeply.

Empress Michiko, in a gray dress, followed suit.

This was the fourth visit by the Imperial couple to Emperor Jinmu's mausoleum since the current Emperor ascended the throne in 1989. They paid the last visit in 2016.